Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece, I’m looking at horse poo, jockeys’ names on their breeches, and the ongoing saga of the Racing League.
Future Winners Found in Racehorse Poo?
A fascinating BBC article delves into a study linking gut bacteria diversity in one-month-old foals to their future success on the racetrack. By analysing samples from 52 thoroughbred foals over three years, researchers discovered that foals with a more diverse gut microbiome tend to have better health and racing outcomes. The study also raises concerns about early antibiotic use, which can diminish gut diversity and impact performance. These findings might influence future breeding and training practices, focusing on maintaining a healthy gut from an early age.
There are also implications for human medicine, underlining the importance of only taking antibiotics when necessary.
Perhaps David Massey will start factoring racehorse poo into his paddock observations!
Read more here.
Jockey Names on Breeches
In a bid to modernise horse racing and enhance fan engagement, the York Ebor Festival will introduce jockeys' names on their breeches. This initiative aims to make it easier for spectators and TV viewers to identify jockeys, fostering a more personal connection between fans and the sport. While this move is part of a broader effort to make horse racing more accessible, I have my reservations.
I’m a big fan of William Derby, York’s chief executive and clerk of the course, but he’s fallen into the trap of others who promote the sport. The real stars of horse racing aren’t the jockeys; it’s the horses. As a child, it was Sea Pigeon who got me interested in the sport, and I’m sure it’s equine athletes who sparked others' love for the game as well.
I couldn’t help but check if this was an April Fool’s joke. Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of jockeys’ names on their backsides on Nunthorpe Day seems a bit crass.
More details can be found here.
Racing League
Can the Racing League get any more embarrassing? I watched the first hour and a half on ITV4 before heading to the supermarket, which says it all. It’s 90 minutes of my life I won’t get back.
The highlight? Racing was delayed due to sheep on the course. The trespassing sheep and the subsequent herding were the most entertaining parts of my 90 minutes.
The ground was good to firm but quickly changed too good to soft, and good to soft, soft in places after race four. The going change led to plenty of non-runners. I got a message from someone who was there, and he said the rain was steady but light and shouldn’t have led to such a big change in the going. Either they had the wrong reading this morning or had watered too much in the days leading up to the meeting. I’m leaning towards the latter.
Friday Racing
It’s 2-0 to the layers as Lady Flora could only manage a place at Chepstow on Thursday. Alcazan (4:00) at Brighton, is Friday’s ‘lay or play’. The mare won a handicap (5f) at Ascot 14 days ago. She’s up 4lb, which makes life tougher, but Joe Leavy takes off 5lb, which negates the weight rise. Equally at home over 6f, she should go well on quick ground. On the negative side, trainer Roger Teal is 0 winners from 24 bets, with 7 places from his last-time-out (LTO) handicap winners. He’ll get a winner sometime, but will it be this afternoon? So, is Alcazan Friday's ‘lay or play’?
Good luck with your Friday bets.
John
The Racing League is just a great place for cheating trainers to get their horses well handicapped. No one takes a blind bit of notice of the jocks at the back and provides a great smokescreen for several teams to flood races with non triers.